My first post, really need some opinions…

We were recently married (June 11) in Vegas at the Excalibur hotel. Our “theme” (not much along the lines, but we did wear costumes and my dress followed the theme) was Medieval/renaissance.. We only had 12 people at the actual ceremony, I wanted easy, low key. Our plan was to have a reception with family and friends in August (we have family that is unable to fly in until August) in our hometown. My moh suggested we have a catered buffet style dinner, and set the time between x hours so that people can “drop in” and be part of the celebration. She wants to incorporate our theme into the reception, which seems way formal. I am at a loss, I don’t know how to have a reception 2 months after the wedding, with no formal setting, no dancing etc. Does this sound in poor taste to anyone else?

Are you looking to have a small “reception/dinner” or or you looking to have a more traditional sit down reception with dancing? If you give me a little more detail as to what you want for your recpetion, I might be able to help a bit more.

I think both are acceptable, it just depends on what you prefer. As a guest, I would enjoy going to a reception with music, dancing, and dinner, but Ive been to receptions held after the real wedding that were just dinner and enjoyed myself as well. Its not in bad taste…people just want to celebrate with you and will probably be more than happy with either reception.

@tjaye: First of all, moving foward: stop worrying about your celebration being in “poor taste” 🙂 You got married in medieval costume for godssake (awesome, by the way), so in no way should YOU of all people be worried about appearances 🙂 Just be you!

I love the idea your MOH is pitching 🙂 I like the idea of keeping with your badass theme, and there is no shame in a celebration with just food.

Just plan this how you would any other party: worry about getting food you love, drinks your happy with, and great decor 🙂

Offbeat Bride has featured a slew of Medieval weddings, check their page out for inspiration!

@NewYearsEve: The idea is to just have food, and mingling (with back ground music). I have just never invovled in a reception that was so long after the wedding, that didnt involve dancing (except on outdoor bbq reception) and had a buffet. I do love our theme and I’ve been looking for ideas.I think I am just getting overwhelmed. Party planning was always my mom’s thing, I definitly missed that gene. Thanks, I would appreciate all input.

@badabing88: Thank you so much. I really was 2nd guessing everything, I don’t want dancing and I agree that the buffet makes more sense. I really do love our theme (was my dh’s idea) and it was fun finiding the right dress to fit the theme. I was just channelling my Mom and her perfect party planning ideas, I guess. I could almost hear her whispering in my ear..lol.. 🙂

@tjaye: You’re going to get a lot of that…especially here. I love the Bee, it’s a great place, but it’s very “traditional” and those of us that like to march to the beat of our own drum during this process often get side eyed 😉 That’s why I’m a tribesmaid over at Offbeat as well: both places have a lot to offer 🙂 You should look into it, I get the vibe you might enjoy it.

We are doing a BBQ buffet in a back yard for our reception, and as long as you keep things casual, even traditional folks with be cool with a buffet. Best part: we can feed well over 30 folks for less than $500, and that’s with the *deluxe* package.

@badabing88: thanks also for the link to offbeat! i spent entirely too much time looking around over there today..I’m not a traditional kinda girl, so I wanted to do things our way. I just kept worrying about apperances. Done with that and moving on! Good luck on your planning, and for the record, I LOVE feeding 30 for 500$..

@tjaye: I think youre theme will make the reception that much more fun so I would definitely try to incorporate that medieval feel. Are you planning on having it outside bc I think thatd make it even easier to create that renaissance theme and still have it be casual. Here’s a few pics I thought were cool. Good Luck!